‘Of Mice And Men’ a novella written by John Steinbeck delves into the idea of how characters are used to explore certain techniques and ideas throughout the novella. Through the main character Lennie, we see an insight to how Steinbeck has portrayed his character highlighting his Innocence. Furthermore we explore the idea of femininity through Curley’s spouse, who also happens to be the only female character made known in the novella. Additionally we are exposed to prejudice through the character Crook. His character being particularly important because he is representing the coloured race in this time of The Great Depression.
Steinbeck’s novella “Of Mice And Men’ has purposely placed Lennie in the chosen character throughout the novella
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Steinbeck: who has deliberately places her in the book to emphasise the known fact that women were not respected in the 1930’s. They were there to provide relief to the mans needs and be able to start a family. Basically treated like they were nothing. The audience discovers this through the fact that the only other female characters in the book are prostitutes. “"...Seems like Curley is cockier'n ever since he got married." George grunted. "Maybe he's showin' off for his wife."” She is representing the women of the 1930’s only there being portrayed as a sex symbol or a piece of meat. Steinbeck has really proven much she was worth by not even giving her a name, throughout the whole book she is referred to as ‘Curley’s Wife’ whereas the male characters ALL have names. As the author John Steinbeck delves into the idea of femininity through Curley’s Wife, we are able so shine a light upon the topic of prejudice through …show more content…
Crooks is defined because of his colour and wasn’t accepted for being different. If he wanted work he was to work away from the white people and forced to sleep in a completely different bunk to the others George, Lennie, Candy etc. During The Great Depression Era people of colour weren’t treated like they were humans, they were treated like complete nobodies and were seen to be slaves. ”“Nigger, huh?” “Yeah. nice fella too. Got a crooked back where a horse kicked him. The boss gives him hell when he’s mad.”” Crooks represents the majority of coloured men during this time period. During his time on the ranch he faces utterly disgraceful and extreme racism, segregation and hatred all because he is of a different colour. Throughout the novella Crooks is to be working away from the other men and to sleep in a different room as if he was an alien. As we proceed to understand the thoughts of prejudice, we are greeted by John Steinbeck’s literary
Often times, verbal abuse is used to degrade by superiors. Crooks is often called racial slurs and is abused to a point where he refers to himself as these slurs. He says: “This is just a nigger talkin. A busted back nigger.” Even the narrator refers to him as slurs: “Crooks, the negro stable buck, had his bunk in the stable room.”
In John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men”, Lennie and George travel together to work. They discuss the trouble they experience with Lennie's touching things he shouldn't and how that forces them to run, hide, and constantly search for work. Throughout the book, Steinbeck gives just a small picture of all the trouble Lennie has caused and how George continues to guide him to get by. A problem with a girl leads us to chapter 1 and 6, and how they share in setting, but George and Lennie's interactions differ. The similarities and differences of chapter 1 and 6 show how Lennie and George's cohesive friendship with a bright future develops into a loving bond that had to end.
Sydney Votino Mrs. Daquelente English 2 12 May 2023 Formal Outline: Cause-and-Effect Essay Thesis: Lennie, Curley’s Wife, and Crooks are characters from John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men who struggles with mental issues, being used, and racism leading to broken dreams that negatively impacted their lives. Body Topic A: To begin, Lennie’s experience with mental issues ruined his dream and drastically changed his hopes for the future. Direct Quote
“…some horses snorted and stomped their feet.” Steinbeck shows a certain level of power asserted by Curley’s Wife that even animals are wary of her presence. Steinbeck also shows a nasty side to Curley’s Wife because she is being ignore by the men she felt vulnerable and lonely. “Listen nigger she said. You know what I can do to you if you open your trap.”
Curley’s wife, the only main female presented in the novella, is depicted as a harlot. The only other time females are mentioned is when they are mentioned as being ladies in whore houses. This depiction sets the tone for all females presented in the novella. Instead of being seen as a worker, women were mainly seen as man’s companion, and as a symbol for love, lust, and desire. In the novella Curley’s wife’s appearance is described as, “Her face heavily made up.
f Mice and Men Essay - Essays and Analysis Critical Context and Evaluation print Print document PDF list Cite link Link Of Mice and Men is one of the most widely assigned modern novels in high schools because of both its form and the issues that it raises. John Steinbeck’s reliance on dialogue, as opposed to contextual description, makes the work accessible to young readers, as does his use of foreshadowing and recurrent images. Equally important is the way in which he intertwines the themes of loneliness and friendship and gives dignity to those characters, especially Lennie and Crooks, who are clearly different from their peers. By focusing on a group of lonely drifters, Steinbeck highlights the perceived isolation and sense of “otherness”
The women shown by Steinback are Curley’s Wife, Susy, and Aunt Clara and are given somewhat respect. Even though there are not many female characters, John Steinbeck symbolizes them as archetypes throughout the book he indicates sexism of women being at the bottom of the social hierarchy in a male workplace. Although all women in the novel are portrayed differently, on some level as authority figures, they differ in the amount of respect received
Throughout Steinbeck’s naturalistic novel, Of Mice and Men, He portrays two distinctively different men struggling to persevere and survive in an otherwise cruel world. Two migrant workers, George and Lennie thrive off the company of one another and the impossible dream that one day, they will acquire land and make a contented life for themselves. Through their friendship and constant hope for a better life, George and Lennie learn how to survive and cling to aspiration during the harsh Depression era. Steinbeck uses symbolism, irony, and characterization in his classic novel to illustrate the undying hope found in a desperate situation. Steinbeck uses symbolism to portray how people find hope in the direst situations.
In such time of the Great Depression and gender equality, this novel presents the character of sexism, Curley’s wife, to show how her dreams has been achieved through death. During her talk with Lennie, she tells him that she “‘[...]never get[s] to talk to nobody [and that she] get[s] awfully lonely’” (Steinbeck 86). Even though she is depicted as a flirtatious, “‘[...]purty [...] bitch’”, her true life was lonely and segregated from the male ranchers (Steinbeck 32). Steinbeck applies this paradox in the story to picture the reader about how a character’s identity can either encourage or ruin his or her reasons to live and achieve a future.
The characters in “Of Mice and Men” have memorable personalities that we all can relate to due to their set archetypes. John Steinbeck uses these common and generalized in order to have the readers relate more to his characters. This allows the reader to experience the story and feelings of the characters much better and lets the reader to connect to the character’s feelings, or force the reader to form opinions that aligns with those of the main protagonist(s). In “Of Mice of Men”, readers are initially introduced to Curley’s Wife with words such as “tart”, and having “the eye”. Which, even if readers do not know what that means, it may be inferred through diction that she is overly flirty, or a “tramp”.
In the novel “Of Mice and Men” John Steinbeck portrays the theme of social injustice throughout the story in the lives of several characters that include Lennie, Curley’s Wife, and the stable buck, Crooks. All of these characters are mistreated in some way, shape or form. The hardships that these characters faced help guide us to see the social injustice that is prevalent in the story. Lennie is a victim of social injustice due to the fact that he is mentally disabled. He is not treated fairly when he was accused of rape.
Of Mice and Men is a novel which tells the story of two friends traveling together and working on a ranch in Depression-era California. This story is filled with memorable characters, one of which being Curley’s wife. Curley is the ranch owner’s son. He and his wife got married at a young age, but her original plan was not to marry Curley. In this novel, she is illustrated as a ‘tart’.
You leave her be.’” (Steinbeck 32) Right away we can tell Curley’s wife knows what she is doing. She is obviously not an idiot. She knows she is beautifil as she trys to use it to get attention.
Sexism is shown in the book when Curley’s wife is regarded as a bitch merely owing to the fact that she is flirtatious and wears appealing clothes. People are prejudiced against Curley’s wife because she is a woman and also because she wears makeup and dresses. She is constantly called derogatory terms throughout the book simply because of her appearance and coquettish actions. She is perceived as Curley’s property so she is not to be looked at or spoken to.
John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men is a short novel that packs a punch and really looks back at America’s past and mistakes. Steinbeck paints a picture of the late 1920s and early 1930s through two men, George and Lennie. George looks after the mentally challenged Lennie and must take action by soon ending Lennie’s life. The characters in the novel all struggle with heartbreaking conflicts but, no one else suffers more than Lennie and George. These conflicts are often supported imagery in the text.